Economic inactivity decreasing but remains high – November’s employment figures
Date published:
Josh Maratty, policy advisor intern at the North East Chamber of Commerce, said:
The ONS employment figures released today (12 November) show that despite unemployment continuing to be high in the region, economic inactivity has decreased in the North East.
Between July to September 2024, the unemployment rate in the North East for those aged 16+ was 1.2% higher than the UK average at 5.5%.
Despite dropping 1.3% from last month, economic inactivity rates for those aged 16-64 continue to remain high in the North East at 24.4%, this is 2.6% higher than the UK average.
The region’s employment rate for those aged 16-64 was 3.4% lower than the UK average at 71.4%.
The ONS has said there is still some volatility within the Labour Force Survey due to smaller sample sizes, but these figures still highlight the North East’s higher rates of economic inactivity and unemployment.
As part of a Get Britain Working white paper, the government announced in the Budget that it is investing £240m to trial new ways of getting people back into work, including tackling ill health, which we know is a key barrier to growth.
The government is also reforming employment rights as part of its proposals for a New Deal for Working People and has committed to work in partnership with businesses, trade unions and civil society to shape the next steps.
We held a roundtable recently with North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, regional MPs and multi-sector businesses to give our members the opportunity to inform the new government’s thinking in this important area for modern business.
We will be using feedback from our members following the Budget and from our roundtable with members to highlight to government the practical implications of these reforms on businesses and how this will impact key areas such as recruitment and retention, as well as security and pay.
Notes
· Official statistics under review published by the ONS suggest between July to September 2024, the unemployment rate in the UK for ages 16+ was 4.3%. In the North East this was higher at 5.5%.
· The UK’s employment rate for ages 16-64 was 74.8%. In the North East this was lower, at 71.4%.
· The UK’s economic inactivity rate for ages 16-64 was 21.8%. In the North East this was higher at 24.4%.
· The ONS continues to use experimental data following issues with data collection earlier this year and in 2023, which made employment figures unavailable for a period. For more details on the ONS’ switch from experimental data to official statistics under review, please click here.